The Registry of Election Finance board has unanimously voted to dismiss a complaint that accused former state Sen. Mae Beavers of violating campaign finance laws in the handling of leftover money from her abandoned gubernatorial campaign, reports Tennessee Star. Beavers said the complaint was “politically motivated.”

She had used $122,123 from her gubernatorial campaign to launch a new political action committee, which then donated $7,800 to current campaign for Wilson County mayor – a donation she subsequently refunded after it was initially disclosed.

Williamson County businessman Bill Lee is accused in a recently-filed complaint of violating various laws in the financing of his campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, reports The Tennessean. A spokesman for the candidate calls the complaint “nonsense” and the newspaper notes there are a couple of apparent factual errors that might prompt the Registry of Election Finance to dismiss it.

Nashville Mayor David Briley, who holds the position on an interim basis, has raised more money than all other candidates in Thursday’s mayor election combined, reports The Tennessean.

His total: $720,200, including $317,315 raised over the past six weeks. No. 2 in fundraising was Carol Swain, a former Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain and a conservative commentator, at $115,560.

On a day of campaigning for governor last month, U.S. Rep. Diane Black flew from Chattanooga to Paris, Tenn., and back on a plane linked to Fitzgerald Glider Kits, reports The Tennessean. That’s the Crossville company that received some media attention in February after getting an exemption with Black’s help from federal vehicle emission standards for the truck engines it makes — and which has bundled $225,000 in donations to her gubernatorial campaign.

A Black spokesman says there’s nothing improper there; that she paid for the flight and it will be duly reported on her next campaign financial disclosure. The story says Black flew on the 2017 Embraer Phenom 300 twin-jet airplane from Chattanooga to West Tennessee on the morning of April 27 to attend the Paris Fish Fry, then used it to fly back to Chattanooga that evening to attend the Hamilton County Lincoln Day Dinner where she met with, among others, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn gets a mention in a Washington Post report on political consequences facing members of Congress who supported 2016 legislation “that hampered the Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement efforts against the opioid industry.”

Following up a promise made last month, President Donald Trump has scheduled an appearance at a Nashville fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in late May.

From an AP brief: A Blackburn Victory Fund invitation says Trump will be in Nashville for the May 29 event. Admission options include a private round-table with Trump for $44,300 a couple; a private photo reception with Trump for $10,800 per couple; or just the general reception, at $2,700 per couple.

The lobbyistDavid Carmenand Elizabeth Carmen will host a fundraiser for Rep. Marsha Blackburn(R-Tenn.), who’s running for Senate, at their home in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington on Tuesday evening, according to an invitation obtained by PI. The twist: One of the co-hosts is Marcelo Claure, the new executive chairman of Sprint and the chief operating officer of SoftBank, which owns most of Sprint.

House Speaker Beth Harwell’s gubernatorial campaign and her political action committee – facing a complaint alleging they have illegally coordinated political activities – have been using the same company for advertising expenditures, reports The Tennessean – citing campaign finance reports.

Though without opposition in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, state Sen. Mark Green loaned his campaign another $200,000 in the first quarter of 2018 – making a total of $500,000 in self-funding so far — and collected $267,949 in contributions, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.